Posie Parker in Belfast

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Just back from the rally. ‘Protesters’ shouted it down. They shouted death threats at Posie. Police did nothing. I wonder why? No such thing as free speech.

Why was Jolene Bunting given a platform?

I'm seeing from the young teenagers I work with a lot of eye rolling regarding the excessive demands of the activists. They're fiercely loyal to their gnc friends though, who they see as troubled, but less placatory to adults who are hogging all the attention.
The 20 somethings are all in, but 15 years younger than them don't seem to be.
It's like grunge kids taking over from the disco queens

The event is called Let Women Speak. All women.

I don't know who she is but I didn't hear any woman say anything offensive.

Ikr. Bit mad. Who next then? Dolores Cahill maybe. Katie Hopkins.

But KJK may not be au fait with Irish nutbags and fascists I guess.

@ColadhSamh as @Clymene says, it's an open mic event. Speakers aren't specifically invited, or vetted. Anyone can join the queue to take the mic (including men, but they are asked to wait to the end).

Any woman could have gone along and spoken.

That's the point.

Do you not understand the concept?

If she starts saying which women can and can't speak, then she would be responsible for who she lets speak.

As it is, any woman can join the queue - it's non-partisan, tolerant of differing opinions - and no matter what that means for who comes to speak (why not some of the TRAs from the other side of the police-line maybe), I think that she's right to keep it that way.

Any chance of a link to that please. And that's great news to hear.

It was emotional alright and brilliant.
Well done to everyone who got there and spoke.
They always seem to be such moving and extraordinary events.

Who is Jolene Bunting?

Here is the man who got headbutted. Absolutely atrocious, violent behaviour from TRAs. Again. And minimising as usual from TRAs on here.

(Warning for anyone who doesn't like blood: he has a gash on his forehead.)

I'd love to, but I think it's been deleted. I was lucky to see it live, but when I went back it was gone. If you know what the mods are like on Reddit, they are very one-sided.

Because the point of the entire thing was about how you shouldn't no platform women because you don't like what they have to say? I don't particularly like PP or agree with a lot of what she says but I respect what she's trying to do here.

I drove 500km yesterday to be there from the republic. It was a fascinating event.
When you arrived there was clear danger from the tras side who were already chanting about cunts and Nazis and then a group of people who were smiling at strangers and introducing themselves asking where you'd come from and if you were on Twitter and encouraging you to speak.

I was a hot mess, before kjk arrived I knew no-one, but I made instant freinds from all over the place lots of Down and Derry natives who werent on twitter but just engaged locslly and worried about the push of men into womens services and safeguarding, lots of uk women who had traveled over to be stewards and just to be in that community of women for a few hours. But very few women from the republic..i think that the repression of my Irish sisters voices is deep the ones i met could not speak due to worries about losing their jobs, or despite some harrowing stories about the family courts and the guarda didnt have the confidence to talk about it.

I met so many of my Twitter heroines and Same who delivers such wonderful barnstorming speeches when she talks and of course Kelly Jay herself.

I was encouraged by many to speak despite being really anxious and wound up by the noise and aggression of the tra crowd and I did speak.

When my voice wavered many wonderful people in the crowd encouraged me to go on and when I cried many of them shed tears of solidarity to. It was wonderful to be amongst such lovely supportive people.

But the noise from the tras meant that very few people could hear the speeches and the low amplification of the event mike meant that you had to shout, but this oblitersted the sound from the more sensitive live stream mike which makes it difficult to understsnd the louder speakers. The tras hacked the bluetooth speakers of the event.

Glinner and the Scottish auditor guy were both in the crowd but let women be the focus of the day but tolerated many selfies.

The psni did a great job and even held the tras back until we had dispersed.

It was a fascinating day, the pub was hostile from the beginning, turning up the tv's and a general unwelcoming atmosphere. I left before any trouble because it was overwhelming and the big drive home.

I encourage any of you to go along , I feel these are once in a lifetime events.
I'm so proud to be in that band of women who have spoken despite cringing at watching my Tiks and tears and general ungainliness on you tube.

Disclaimer - I never said LWS was a demonstration (and this has already been said on many other treads). Obvioulsy I was talking about the demonstrators who were the ones making the noise and drowning out the right to free speech.

As I said on the other thread, it almost makes you want to support the Tories policing bill that specifically says noisy demos shouldn't be allowed as they infringe on other people.

I didn't understand how this operated but yes agree with above examples. This event has become at least on social media I have read, all about Jolene Bunting and the message has been lost for those women looking for a voice.

She was a TUV councillor who left that party and became independent aligning with far right group Britain First. She was subsequently suspended for 4 months as a councillor for anti Islam speeches and social media comments. She was also reported for other racist, offensive and sectarian comments. She appealed that suspension on the grounds of freedom of speech under Article 10 freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights. She never retracted her comments.

There have been numerous other incidents not least her appearances at anti immigration protests.
She is currently disqualified from becoming a councillor for 3 years having been reported for fraud by ironically her former friends in Britain First.
This is not who I and many other women would want to represent me but it seems as a woman she has a right to speak from a platform regardless of how racist, bigoted or sectarian she may be. #notinmyname.

How can you run an event called Let Women Speak and then exclude women from speaking? In reality, you then end up with Let Women Speak (If I Approve of What They Say Already) which is a different event.

Then maybe that's what the event should be, because platforming people like that legitimises and emboldens then. I'm not GC and I genuinely do not know how people can stand beside overt and known racists just because in that moment they are not being racist

I hope you’re speaking up for all the kids who are “transed” at a young age too.

Posie haters have to scrabble around for irrelevant trivia every time.

There is no actual valid criticism.

This event has become at least on social media I have read, all about Jolene Bunting

Well obviously the TRAs would want to flood SM with this message.

So if you and others on SM think the event was more than one speaker, then post about all the other women and what they had to say.

Otherwise, whether SM or elsewhere we wouldn't do anything, as their voice is always louder.

For instance going by MSM there was no event in which women had a voice to talk about their rights, it was all about a woman (blamed because it is her behaviour makes men need to be violent) who has followers that other dont like.

I have not read one report SM or MSM that in any way reflects the actual content of the event. ie the speeches women made.

Well done Babasghost!
What a long drive on your own, getting through the hostility and speaking!
Was that you first to speak?
How very courageous....
It looked very well supported.
Thanks for feeding back.
I hope Dublin can happen this year too.

Just to say to Babasghost and all the other speakers thanks for sharing your voice, and I hope more people, via youtube, will hear your message.

And I have no interest is this, we must be so careful not to give the "left" and weapon to fight us with. 99% of us dont know who the speakers are. We aren't thinking someone with another agence has snuck in to get the mike to hijack the event.

The problem is, is the event is about women and the common experiences they share, which is why it is a women's event. And even if that means some women's whose politics we dont like, has a voice, it just illlustrates that why we have women's events if because despite other differences, our experiences of discrimination are common / shared.

But if you do want to get into the finger pointing and getting bogged down in lefty posture politics, why not share the clips of the amazing woman who spoke about her experience of life through her body, who was so emotional KJK came forward to support her. What would the left have to say in response to the "image" which is what they are trying to distract you with, of the so called "nazi" KJK silenting support a Black woman, so that her authentic voice can be heard.

There are other groups, such as WPUK, where you can attend knowing that they will have vigourously vetted their speakers for left wrong think, so you will comfortable in your bubble.

So would it be reasonable to assume that you also believe that children don't come up with deciding they are 'trans' on their own? And that they are doing it because of ideas that have been put in their heads by someone else such as their parents, teachers, friends?

Not being funny, but is she
a - a woman?

If so, then she is as entitled to speak as you are.

You get that right? You do not control what everyone else thinks, says and does.

Honestly, this is beyond stupid now. If you wanted to speak then you could have gone along, and spoken.

PEOPLE YOU DISAGREE WITH HAVE A FUCKING RIGHT TO SPEAK - THAT IS THE FUCKING POINT.